BLS Bellsouth Cp

Russell Tillson of Virginia Beach Guaranteed of Winning Same Purse as Burton ATLANTA, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Once the green flag drops at the Daytona Beach stock car race on July 1, Russell Tillson will be in the stands cheering for Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet harder than anyone else. That's because when Burton wins, he wins. Even if Burton doesn't win, Tillson still wins. Thanks to a unique promotion by Cingular, Tillson is guaranteed of winning the same amount of money that Burton earns during the race, no matter where he finishes in the 43-car field. Tillson, a lifelong motorsports fan from Virginia Beach, Virginia, was randomly selected for the opportunity to "Win Jeff Burton's Pay-Day" from more than one million entries submitted between February and June. The sweepstakes was part of Cingular's Virtual Crew Chief program that aired during race telecasts on FOX and FX this year, prompting viewers to answer race-specific questions via wireless text messaging or online at foxsports.com, with the results revealed on-air during the race broadcast. Each entrant received one entry into the "Win Jeff Burton's Pay-Day" sweepstakes for every poll response submitted. Consumers could also opt-in to play racing-themed trivia, with each question answered counting for one contest entry. Information about the sweepstakes was provided on Cingular31.com. "I have always been a big fan of Jeff Burton, but thanks to Cingular, I have an even bigger reason to cheer him on in Daytona Beach this weekend," said Tillson. "Hopefully I can give him a little extra motivation to end up in the winner's circle. I do feel a little guilty that Jeff has to drive 400 miles for his pay-day while all I have to do is watch from the stands." "I think it's great that Cingular gave race fans a chance to win my pay- day," said Burton, who grew up in South Boston, Virginia. "I'll definitely be thinking about Russell when I cross the finish line in Daytona Beach. This has always been one of my favorite races so hopefully I can help him win a nice amount of cash." As part of the grand prize, Tillson will get to travel to his first ever Daytona Beach race and root for the bright orange Cingular Chevrolet at one of motorsports' most famous tracks. Tillson will have high expectations for his impending pay-day, as Burton has a history of racing well in Daytona Beach. During his career at the 2.5-mile tri-oval, he has recorded one win, five Top 5 finishes, and seven Top 10 finishes. Regardless of how Burton performs, Tillson is guaranteed an attractive payout. During last year's race, payouts ranged from $368,261 for the winner down to $80,725. This year marks Cingular's fifth season as a primary sponsor of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Burton's second year behind the wheel. He currently ranks 6th in the Cup Series point standings, buoyed by three Top 5 finishes and ten Top 10 finishes. For his career he has 17 victories, three poles, 97 Top 5 and 166 Top 10 finishes and finished in the Top 10 in the Cup point standings from 1997-2001. ABOUT CINGULAR WIRELESS Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 55.8 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation -- the ALLOVER(TM) network -- and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is a leader in third generation wireless technology. Its 3G network is the first widely available service in the world to use HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(R), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/. Get Cingular Wireless press releases emailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/. DATASOURCE: Cingular Wireless CONTACT: Jennifer Bowcock of Cingular Wireless, +1-404-236-6319, or ; or Bates Grainger of Career Sports & Entertainment, +1-770-955-1300, or Web site: http://www.cingular31.com/ http://www.cingular.com/ http://cingular.mediaroom.com/

Copyright